Gazans count cost of war
The Hamas-led government in Gaza says 25,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed [EPA]
Palestinians returning to their neighbourhoods have begun to unearth the true scale of destruction left by Israel's 22-day offensive on the Gaza Strip.
The devastation being unveiled comes as Israeli troops continued to pull back from some key points in Gaza towards the border and as the fragile ceasefires declared separately by the Israelis and Palestinians continued to hold early on Tuesday.
Israeli army radio quoted unnamed military officials as saying that troops would pull out of Gaza by the time Barack Obama, the US president-elect, takes office on Tuesday.
But Al Jazeera's Barnaby Phillips, reporting from the Israel-Gaza border, said Israeli military sources were saying that it was largely reservists who were leaving Gaza and it appeared that regular troops remained poised to respond to any perceived violations of the Israeli ceasefire.
Despite the three-week Israeli onslaught that killed more than 1,300 Palestinians and destroyed thousands of buildings, Hamas and other Palestinian factions claimed victory in the fighting.
Hamas defiant
In video
Unearthing Gaza's destruction
Israel's scorched earth tacticsIsrael had said the aim of its operations in Gaza was to cripple Hamas's ability to launch rockets into the south of the country.
But a masked man calling himself Abu Obeida and claiming to be a spokesman for Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's armed wing, said the group's rocket-launching capacity had not been diminished, and threatened to renew fighting if Israeli forces did not withdraw.
"They [Israel] say they weakened Hamas. We assure you that what we have lost in this war is nothing compared to what we [still] have," he said in a televised news conference on Monday.
The Israeli military said three rockets fired from Gaza have landed in southern Israel since the ceasefire announcement by Hamas and other Palestinian factions on Sunday.
Abu Obeida also vowed that Hamas would replenish its arsenal of rockets and other weapons, in defiance of any Israeli or international efforts to cut off smuggling routes.
"Do whatever you want, bringing in and manufacturing the holy weapons is our mission, and we know how to acquire weapons," he said.
Disease fears
GAZA TOLL
At least 1,300 people killed, including more than 400 children and more than 100 women
At least 5,300 Palestinians injured, including nearly 1,900 children and 800 women At least 100,000 people forced from their homes At least 13 Israelis killed, including three civiliansHe claimed that Hamas had shot down four Israeli helicopters and a spy plane and added that two Israeli soldiers had been captured early in the fight - a claim Israel rejected – and only 48 Hamas fighters were among the 1,300 Palestinians killed, while the Israeli military said around 500 fighters had been killed.
Meanwhile scores of bodies have been discovered in the rubble of destroyed buildings since the fighting was halted.
Abed Sharafi, an ambulance driver, said on Monday that he had helped pull out the bodies of 15 children and women from under their house. "They were so badly decomposed that we couldn't distinguish boys from girls. Some had been there for 15 days," he said.
Al Jazeera's Ayman Mohyeldin, reporting from Gaza City, said the World Health Organisation was warning of an outbreak of disease with bodies now several weeks old and sewage flowing over many areas because of the destruction to infrastructure.
The deposed Hamas-led government in Gaza estimates that more than 5,000 buildings were completely destroyed and 20,000 damaged or partially destroyed in the fighting, some of which Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general, is set to see when he visits the strip on Tuesday.
Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies
Palestinians returning to their neighbourhoods have begun to unearth the true scale of destruction left by Israel's 22-day offensive on the Gaza Strip.
The devastation being unveiled comes as Israeli troops continued to pull back from some key points in Gaza towards the border and as the fragile ceasefires declared separately by the Israelis and Palestinians continued to hold early on Tuesday.
Israeli army radio quoted unnamed military officials as saying that troops would pull out of Gaza by the time Barack Obama, the US president-elect, takes office on Tuesday.
But Al Jazeera's Barnaby Phillips, reporting from the Israel-Gaza border, said Israeli military sources were saying that it was largely reservists who were leaving Gaza and it appeared that regular troops remained poised to respond to any perceived violations of the Israeli ceasefire.
Despite the three-week Israeli onslaught that killed more than 1,300 Palestinians and destroyed thousands of buildings, Hamas and other Palestinian factions claimed victory in the fighting.
Hamas defiant
In video
Unearthing Gaza's destruction
Israel's scorched earth tacticsIsrael had said the aim of its operations in Gaza was to cripple Hamas's ability to launch rockets into the south of the country.
But a masked man calling himself Abu Obeida and claiming to be a spokesman for Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's armed wing, said the group's rocket-launching capacity had not been diminished, and threatened to renew fighting if Israeli forces did not withdraw.
"They [Israel] say they weakened Hamas. We assure you that what we have lost in this war is nothing compared to what we [still] have," he said in a televised news conference on Monday.
The Israeli military said three rockets fired from Gaza have landed in southern Israel since the ceasefire announcement by Hamas and other Palestinian factions on Sunday.
Abu Obeida also vowed that Hamas would replenish its arsenal of rockets and other weapons, in defiance of any Israeli or international efforts to cut off smuggling routes.
"Do whatever you want, bringing in and manufacturing the holy weapons is our mission, and we know how to acquire weapons," he said.
Disease fears
GAZA TOLL
At least 1,300 people killed, including more than 400 children and more than 100 women
At least 5,300 Palestinians injured, including nearly 1,900 children and 800 women At least 100,000 people forced from their homes At least 13 Israelis killed, including three civiliansHe claimed that Hamas had shot down four Israeli helicopters and a spy plane and added that two Israeli soldiers had been captured early in the fight - a claim Israel rejected – and only 48 Hamas fighters were among the 1,300 Palestinians killed, while the Israeli military said around 500 fighters had been killed.
Meanwhile scores of bodies have been discovered in the rubble of destroyed buildings since the fighting was halted.
Abed Sharafi, an ambulance driver, said on Monday that he had helped pull out the bodies of 15 children and women from under their house. "They were so badly decomposed that we couldn't distinguish boys from girls. Some had been there for 15 days," he said.
Al Jazeera's Ayman Mohyeldin, reporting from Gaza City, said the World Health Organisation was warning of an outbreak of disease with bodies now several weeks old and sewage flowing over many areas because of the destruction to infrastructure.
The deposed Hamas-led government in Gaza estimates that more than 5,000 buildings were completely destroyed and 20,000 damaged or partially destroyed in the fighting, some of which Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general, is set to see when he visits the strip on Tuesday.
Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario